When my husband and I stopped attending meetings, we joined a softball league. This presented us with the opportunity to get to know people and replace the friends we had lost. The first thing we noticed was how nice, family-oriented and honest they were. I had no fear of leaving my belongings unattended. In fact, many even left their phones and wallets on the bench. At that moment, it dawned on me that unbelievers were decent people.

This came as a bit of a shock because I was taught, from childhood onwards, to fear those outside the organization. If I stayed within the four walls of Jehovah’s organization, I would be protected from harm. Fear was one way to prevent me from leaving.

Experience after experience is given, from the platform or printed in the magazines, promoting the idea that Jehovah’s Witnesses, alone, are moral, trustworthy and honest. And, if you associate with non-believers, you might be mistreated.

One such article is the 2009 Watchtower on Personal Preferences.

In Choosing Associates

Is socializing with those who do not share our faith simply a question of personal preference, or are Bible principles involved? One sister wanted to go to a party with a young man who was not a true Christian. Although warned of the dangers, she felt that it was her right to do so and therefore went to the party. Not long after she arrived, she was given a drink laced with a powerful sedative. She woke up several hours later and found that she had been raped by her so-called friend. (w09 2/15, pp. 20)

Generalizations and accusations are often made about non-Witnesses. Notice how the following Watchtower describes corruption:

Our world is characterized by greed and selfishness [emphasis given]. In such an environment, some people find it difficult to be different. Driven by selfish ambition, they become power hungry [emphasis given]. They also develop a strong desire for more money and possessions [emphasis given]—more than they really need. Sadly, they are willing to behave in a dishonest way [emphasis given] to achieve those goals. Rather than resisting unwholesome influences, such people “follow after the crowd for evil ends.”—Exodus 23:2. (w12 10/1 pp. 4-5)

The book Keep Yourselves in God’s Love makes the point that dishonesty is commonplace in today’s society.

16 Because Satan is the ruler of this world, we are not surprised to find that dishonesty is all around us [emphasis is mine]. Daily we may face temptations to be dishonest. When people write up a résumé to apply for work, it is a common practice to lie and exaggerate, inventing credentials and falsifying experience. When people fill out forms for immigration, taxation, insurance, and the like, they commonly give false answers in order to get what they want. Many students cheat on tests, or when they write papers and reports for school, they may go to the Internet and plagiarize what they find there, falsely presenting someone else’s work as their own. And when people deal with corrupt officials, they often offer bribes to get what they want. We expect as much in a world where so many are “lovers of themselves, lovers of money, . . . without love of goodness.”—2 Timothy 3:1-5.

17 True Christians are resolved not to engage in any of those practices [emphasis given]. What makes honesty a challenge at times is that those who do engage in such dishonest ways seem to succeed and even get ahead in today’s world. (Psalm 73:1-8) Meanwhile, Christians may suffer financially because they wish to remain honest “in all things.” Is it worth the sacrifices involved? Absolutely! But why? What blessings result from honest conduct? (lv chap. 14 pp. 160-170)

Witness teachings claim that Satan controls the morality of the entire world. [photo from jw.org website]

Believers and unbelievers are contrasted throughout Jehovah’s Witness literature, accusing the latter of being greedy, selfish, and dishonest. Then, when a witness “does the right thing” and returns something of value that was found, the story is used as PR for the religion.

Awake! magazine implies that the world at large is filled with mostly dishonest people – (Awake!, April 22nd 1993, p.29)

One such case involves a New Hampshire woman. Early in 2015, Janelle Jones received a bundle of cash ($2,631) as she exited the drive-through of a fast food restaurant.

Ultimately, within an hour, she returned the money. Then, she and her husband, both Jehovah’s Witnesses, explained that they did so because “Jehovah sees everything [emphasis given]” (New York Daily News, Jan 2015).

This story was covered my multiple media outlets and shared by many Witnesses. Experiences, such as this one, drive home to current members the taught truth that they are “the most honest people on earth.”

Watchtower reiterates the idea that most of the world, human society that exists outside the true Christian congregation, would not act the same way.

Finders Keepers

How do you feel when you find something valuable that someone has lost? To many, this arouses immediate feelings of possession, causing them to wave aside any thought of returning it [emphasis added]. They have a “finders keepers” philosophy. Some may feel that there is no harm done. After all, they reason, the owner has undoubtedly written it off as a loss. Others say that it is not their responsibility to seek out the owner—a chore that might entail a lot of effort. …

How many people do you know who sincerely strive to be honest all the time [emphasis added]? Just imagine being with 50, 100, or 200 persons who are. That is the happy experience of Jehovah’s Witnesses at their Kingdom Halls. (w10 3/1, pp. 13)

However, there are many examples of unbelievers returning found money/belongings.

They are not motivated by fear of judgment, disappointment or guilt of sanctions. Instead, the moral compass of most people is inherently good.

Misha Anouk, in his article entitled “After The Burger King Money Find: 7 People Who Returned Loads Of Money Without Being Jehovah’s Witnesses,” states: “honesty simply is not unique to Jehovah’s Witnesses” (Taze.co, 2015). He illustrates this point with seven examples.

This brings me to two, personal experiences that demonstrate the opposite of what is taught by the Governing Body.

On a Saturday afternoon, myself and five others were driving around looking for people with whom to preach. In one shopping center, near the front of a major store, the Witness driver parked and walked over to the bus stop. Upon returning to her vehicle, she looked down and found a diamond ring. As no other cars or people were nearby, she excitedly took the ring. She was thrilled at her find. That very morning, she prayed to Jehovah for help, as she and her husband were having a tough time paying their bills. My friend sincerely thought it was not wrong to sell the ring. This way, she could continue spending her days in the ministry.

She is not alone; many of Jehovah’s Witnesses are struggling to make ends meet. They place more importance on spiritual matters than earning a living. Constantly, they are told to put Jehovah first and pray for help in matters of food, clothing and shelter.

Now, I knew keeping the ring was wrong. It appeared to be valuable; surely, someone would return looking for it. I asked to see it, and took it inside the store. I gave it to the manager where he locked it in the safe.

At first, this sister was upset at me. She said, “How do we know someone from that store lost it? I bet the employee will just keep it for himself!”

Guess what? Wordly people can “do the right thing.”

Later that day, the manager informed me that it was reclaimed. The lady who lost it, retraced her steps. The ring had fallen off her hand while she reached in her purse. She was devastated, upset, and scared that it was gone for good. She was grateful we turned it in.

I can remember telling ones, “If one of Jehovah’s Witnesses had not found that ring, she would never have gotten it back.” I gave no further thought to how the sister planned on selling it.

That is, until last Sunday.

You see, my aunt lost her ring while attending a local garden show with me and my husband. She was sickened by the loss. While I canvassed the area, looking for this heirloom piece of jewelry, I was calm. I knew that people were good and someone would turn it in.

I was right! The very next day, the show office called her; someone found it while cleaning up and returned it.

My point is not to accuse all of Jehovah’s Witnesses of being dishonest. Rather, I want to debunk the idea that one needs to be a religious follower of Bible standards in order to be moral and good.

Elizabeth Palermo, in her article “Religion Doesn’t Make People More Moral, Study Finds,” writes:

The moral high ground seems to be a crowded place. A [2014] study suggests that religious people aren’t more likely to do good than their nonreligious counterparts. …

Researchers asked 1,252 adults of different religious and political backgrounds … to record the good and bad deeds they committed, witnessed, learned about or were the target of throughout the day.

The goal of the study was to access how morality plays out in everyday life for different people, said Dan Wisneski … .

The study’s findings may come as a shock to those who think religious or political affiliation helps dictate a person’s understanding of right and wrong.

[They] found that religious and nonreligious people commit similar numbers of moral acts. …

It is a misconception that only Jehovah’s Witnesses can keep to high moral standards.

Reflecting on the two experiences mentioned above, I cannot help but realize that my mind is clearing from the fog of indoctrination; I can clearly see that “wordly” people are moral, honest and good. I no longer worry that I will be harmed or mistreated. I am happily finding a place for myself in this world.

107 Responses to The Friday Column: Are Jehovah’s Witnesses More Honest and Moral Than Unbelievers?

Very nice article. I too have found that people are inherently good. The witness culture promotes and produces extreme prejudice. I was somewhat uneasy about the prejudice but being a good little jw I mostly behaved accordingly although not to an extreme. I now know better and behave better having shed the prejudice. Witnesses by and large are good people as are those who aren’t witnesses, you’ll always have a few bad apples in any group. However witnesses don’t seem to take the moral high ground where child abuse is concerned or the shunning policy. Two areas that would be shocking to many non-witnesses.

Nice article Jane. I think that gaining trust in ‘worldly’ people is one of the more difficult accomplishments for one coming out of the JW cult. Every attempt is made to indoctrinate one with the thought that ‘worldly’ people are not trustworthy, moral, or honest. Even the adjective ‘worldly’ is used to lessen the quality of anyone who is not a JW. You certainly did the right and moral thing returning the ring despite the fact that the person who found it undoubtedly viewed it as ‘Jehovah’s blessing’. Hypocrisy at its finest.

I know a MS who went to jail for tax fraud and he claimed he didn’t know he was doing it now that he is out he is a MS again. Also an elder who is also a pioneer, was given much change back from casher at Arbeys he did not return it. This same elder found a expensive drill left by a worker on same job sight he wouldn’t return it unless the man gave him a finders fee. Point is it’s not what they claim people are people religious or not.

Absolutely KI –
‘for good people to do evil – that takes religion!’ Don’t we just see that with fanatical religious groups, it shows who their master is.
What was that comment in the Watchtower about corruption, the glove seems to fit them perfectly. The GB have certainly not been honest in all things as was seen in the recent Royal Commission enquiry.
P.S. Any comments on the memorial date – it’s getting very close. Have the Society got it right this year?? Can they be trusted with anything?

@Bad Penny
RE: Memorial Date
I am not too worried about the date of the memorial. In the grand scheme of JW errors, being a day off is not that big a deal. They’ve been saying Armageddon is “just around the corner” for over 100 years.

They are no worse (and certainly no better) than the Catholic Church in trying to have Easter always fall on a Sunday or setting up the birth of Christ on December 25. The teachings of Christ seem to indicate that the minor details are not that important, but rather the focus is on your intent and attitude. So it should not really matter when you choose to give rememberance to Christ, but rather your desire to do so.

Back to the topic at hand: Great article Jane Redwood. Something that really struck me early in my awakening was the realization that most so-called “worldly” people were decent and honest. In fact, I found them more pleasant to be around, since they did not have the prejudices and judgmental attitude of JWs.

Thanks Winston – I do realise that dates are not a strong point with Watchtower, however there are a lot of ex JWs who feel they have to attend the memorial for family and friends. The date this year may not be just a day out, it may be a month! Check the Jews Passover date, they should really know shouldn’t they, since Jesus followed the same calendar and didn’t dispute it. As you say back to topic ….

@Bad Penny
I see what you mean now in relation to the date of Passover. So the JWs are following the same calendar as the Catholic Church, thus having the memorial coincide with Easter rather than the Passover. Usually, the Passover and Easter are closer, but due to calendar date discrepancies they are nearly a month off every so many years. This dates back to the counsel of Nicea when they determined that they would no longer follow the Jewish calendar.

So the Watchtower chooses to follow the path set by “Babylon the Great” when setting the date for the Memorial rather than going back to the calendar of God’s chosen people the Jews. Interesting. Do you think they do this because they figure they have a chance to win more converts if they hold the memorial around the same time as Easter?

WS – They have thrown their lot in with Christendom this year. I don’t know about more converts!??
I have done, as have many others, extra research on this. It involves not just the new/full moons but also the first barley harvest. It is supposed to be the MOST IMPORTANT day, so getting the date right is fundamental.
The Governing Body are so involved in getting awards and fighting child abuse cases that they have definitely got it wrong this year. God’s channel?? I don’t think so.
It brings to mind when God was mocking the Egyptians at the Red Sea by flicking the wheels off their chariots. Jehovah’s Witnesses are having their ‘wheels’ knocked off them one by one.
I pray with all my heart that they will one day be plunged into the ‘sea’, and are gone forever.

@Bad Penny
Do you know if this is the first time they have done this or do they always follow Christendom? This one month disconnect between Easter and Passover only occurs every 15 to 20 years, so is it possible that this has always been the case for the Memorial? I always recall the memorial coinciding with Easter.

WS – I have only researched Jewish Passover dates. Since 1950 to 2049 the Passover has NEVER been celebrated before the 26th March (which was 2013). I do not have the WT bound volumes to check their Memorial dates, so I am unable to check of this happening before. One for you to research perhaps?

Speaking of the memorial, I just realized that everyone especially the sisters are overdressed like some sort of special ballroom dance is happening just for a 30 min or so talk. Then they pass up the bread and wine as if they’re denying Christ (Other so called Christians actually eat and drink them). In the end the elder just tells visitors (who happen to be 10% or less) to attend the special talk and to continue attending their meetings. Heck, I’d rather attend a Friday Holy Week and pray for my sins and partake the bread and wine just to show my respect for Christ. And speaking of which, after the memorial, everyone is so happy to take group pics and go straight to a restaurant late at night like Denny’s while other churches actually feel sad and go straight home like it’s a funeral.

The watchtower society cult teaches it’s followers to have a hypocritical, judgemental, condemning and contemptuous attitude towards all people that are not in it… Like the Pharisees in the Gospels…. Like the pharisee and tax collector in Luke 18…it took me a long while to get rid of that… It’s one of the most common faults all people have, to some degree or another, I don’t think anyone is 100% free of it… But with time and persistence, we can get rid of it enough, so that it isn’t our overwhelming attitude towards others… Another thing that helped me was Matthew 25 sheep and goats… No mention is made of what people believe or don’t believe, what really matters is, how we treat each other

Victor
Very true Chris. The only difference, according to Jesus teaching between the faithful and discreet slave and the wicked slave, is that the wicked slave beats up his FELLOW slave. Jesus didn’t say former slave, he said FELLOW slave, which means the wicked slave is still in the organization and cannot be confused with anyone who has left or been kicked out of the organization.
For example: would the governing body consider those they call apostates and who have left,still their fellow slaves? Of course not. So the wicked slave is still in the organization.
But just like any abuser, the wicked slave will deny it, blame the victim, and claim they are being persecuted. These ramblings by abusers are good clues then that may help identify that wicked slave.
The governing body needs to do a search for that wicked slave and the first place they need to look is the mirror.

Also keep in mind that other translations of the bible including the King James makes mention of ‘A’ slave, not ‘THE’ slave at Matthew 24:45. This translation obliterates their position as leaders of anything but a cult.

Even Jesus own instruction on the matter is irrelevant to these cult leaders
Mark 9:38-41, also Luke 9:40

38 “Teacher,” said John, “we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us.”

39 “Do not stop him,” Jesus said. “For no one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, 40 for whoever is not against us is for us. 41 Truly I tell you, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to the Messiah will certainly not lose their reward.

My daughter, pre getting pregnant and marrying a non witness, was dating a JW and they were going to get engaged and marry very quickly… she went with a pioneer sister across the line shopping. Whilst there she found a beautiful wedding dress and the pioneer sister insisted on buying it for her and she could pay her back later. Not only did the pioneer sister demand the money back, her pioneer husband added interest on the payment for each day until payment was made. I’m sure there is a scripture about this somewhere. My daughter was devastated about this and obviously the friendship was lost.

Is it not amazing just how elite JWs think they are. This cult will indeed paralyze one. I have had a wrecking ball around my neck for years. I never fit in because of the fear the organizers at bethel reigned over me. After 40 years of utter despair I was only recently shown the door out of the sick sick cult like thinking. It takes time and i am upset that I wasted so much living in fear. Recently out of rehab for alcohol, i was able to see that I am not bad just sick and the sickness was a combination of just lacking coping skills along with the guilt of my PTSD. My counsellors and the ones around them were kind and truly cared. I am grateful I am alive today but without the guilt of the Watchtower. What venom they produce. Please keep yourself informed of what will be happening to the pedophiles in the JW organization. Its beginning to take its toll. JWs have no morality when they can cover up this sexual child abuse in my opinion

Im begining to realize that after 50 years in and findind out its false.is like working all your life to save for a retirement home and discovering the bank you put all your money in has gone bust! The directors have done the off with any money left an you have nothin !!

Another reason we can state that there is no “good” in this organization supposedly turning people around from abusive and self-destructive living. It doesn’t supply “coping skills” only a script that must be followed to perfection and failure to meet those expectations creates a cycle of shame and for those predisposed, self-destruction.

Being around the JWs for years has certainly left a mark on me. For so long I would use the same terminology as an active witness but I chose to disassociate myself. With that said how can I speak like satan and this god Jehovah are real? I am an atheist and happy for the first time in my life.

That’s the way Pj…..to be really free of the JW rubbish you have to free yourself of the Bible as well. It’s a ridiculous document and doesn’t really say anything that people and civilisations past and present haven’t managed to work out all by themselves through hard experience and noticing what works and what doesn’t. If you sleep with your neighbours wife, there will be trouble. If you continually interbreed – trouble. Are there any words of wisdom in the bible that we wouldn’t have worked out or had already worked out without some bearded guy in the sky teaching us while at the same time essentially saying “love me or I’ll kill you”. Nice guy. Sign me up. Let me explain life here….imagine a beautiful newborn fawn prancing around all full of life and being the cutest and the most loveliest thing you’ve ever seen. Blue sky. Birds singing. Suddenly a tiger leaps out of the bush and sinks it’s fangs into it’s neck! That is life folks. In all it’s beauty and all it’s horror. It owes us no favours. Paradise and Hell is happening everywhere all the time and we cope with it as best we can. Don’t be afraid of it.

I think you’re addressing me and if I’m right….thanks, I will have a peep later. I’ve read, thought and watched a fair bit over the years and the first thing that turned a lightbulb on for me, apart from listening to my B.S. detector in childhood, was reading James A Mitcheners ‘The Source’. Then I have JW’s in my family so have no end of peeps into the deluded mind. A lifetime thesis on brainwashing. It’s amazing and scary what people can so easily be conned into right up to this day. I can tell you with confidence that I know more about what they actually believe than they do, but you try telling them that. “Oh who told you that!! They just follow and obey without thinking. They’re afraid to think, especially with the big ‘A’ arriving before lunctime. ‘Millions now living have been Totally Duped’

I agree wholeheartedly…the only way for me to be at peace was to reject all religion…I am a better person for it…kinder,more tolerant,less judgemental,caring and compassionate…Im a better workmate,colleague…and yes ..wife…though my husband doesnt see it…I try to make life count now in this moment and I am learning to finish what I start…a subtle influence of this controlling religion is that we dont need to see things through unless they pertain to out instructions from the gb…we dont need to finish our education…we dont need to finish saving for our retirement…we dont need to finish projects that take us away from our spiritual life…Im on a steep learning curve here and its quite a shock in your late 50’s…but release from the bible has been a huge factor in my life… Im now totally atheist and the mental relief is immense… Im still fading…I have not been to a meeting for 7 months and have not reported for 6months…Im going to the memorial… I think that will be the last time.

Good for you Idontknowhatodo. Maybe by the year 3000 Christianity will begin to realize that it has been duped and that the bible is not the inspired, inerrant word of God but a collection of stories/legends/myths by men who claimed divine inspiration (and who had a nationalistic agenda); that It isn’t any more sacred or less sacred than the texts of other religions or of the writings (secular and non-secular, fictional and non-fictional) of the world’s great thinkers, philosophers and theologians. Admittedly, some of the stories contain historical facts about people, places and events and do have a message.

Maybe by the year 3000 too, Christianity will also come to realize that it is just a tradition – pity I won’t be around to see it.

A fun way to top off the memorial:
The following is a selection of scenes from the British comedy: LIFE OF BRIAN, written by Monty Pythons. It tells the story of a reluctant would-be messiah who rises to prominence as a result of a series of absurd and truly hilarious circumstances:

I agree with you. There is only one thing that I am grateful to this organisation is that it helped me break free from ALL religion. Religion serves no other purpose than to keep oppressing anyone who allows it! “Love me or you will die, or don’t but still die anyway.” Imagine what a much better place this existence would be without religion!

Here is a little known but extensive resource of posts and articles using news sources and court documents that show that there are as many (if not more) con-men and shady dealers among Jehovah’s Witnesses (including elders). Reading some of the reports on this website will take your breath away. Give yourself an afternoon and just read a few of the stories this site shares and you will have an entirely different outlook on “the most honest people on earth.http://jwemployees.bravehost.com/NewsReports/2015.html

@Juan Viejo. That is some incredible information about JW’s and their business dealings. I actually know a few of the people in there and others who tried to be just like them and some of their scams they had going on. I knew of several “SHADY” brothers and even a Circuit Overseer was part of it.
In N California there was a group of Prominent African American Brothers in the Music industry and they got a CO involved also and always had some kind of continual scam going on. I still know a Brother who tried to get many including myself to
invest in Foreign Exchange trades. Just give him your money and he claimed he would double your return on a monthly basis? I did the math and said do you realize what you are saying here?

If I give you just $1k in a year I will be a millionaire if you double it every month. Then he said Ok you are right but I can still guarantee you a 10% return each month! Crazy. He is living in Europe now and called me the other day and asked if he could borrow $30k from me! When I said No, he said Ok can you loan me $5k then? These guys are scammers.

It’s funny how we are given the council about not stumbling others over petty things like xmas yet if you call someone out on something, you become the worst person in the world for it. For instance, years ago I couldn’t understand how this “pioneer” brother could honestly go out trying to convert people to the “truth” when he was cheating the welfare system by collecting sickness benefits for depression but flushing his anti-depressants down the toilet. Then doing cash work for brothers mainly the wealthy elders to support his lifestyle.

When I brought that up to him & the elders that supported this dishonesty, I was treated like a jezebel woman for daring to speak unkindly of a pioneer & questioning the elders honesty by enabling him. I didn’t speak unkindly to him or them, I was trying to get them to see what I saw as an honest worker.

You could go on & on with the dishonesty & justification that goes on in this cult. They would put down born-agains with the “once saved, always saved” hypocrisy yet had the same attitude. The belief that they are God’s chosen people covered over their sins. I didn’t disagree with that to a point but when you are for years & years collecting welfare from people who are doing an honest days work just screamed hypocrisy & defeated the purpose of the ministry.

I thought that it was a total lack of respect for a system that is there to support those who genuinely needed it. I wouldn’t have worried that much about it if it was just this person acting alone but he had the support from all of the elders as they would get cheap ‘cash’ labour from him.

The most dishonest people I have ever met in my life were individuals who were my christian brothers..
Liars…thieves..slanderers…gossips…judgmental… they have ruined lives…Iv seen it happen…Im sure this happens everywhere…but thier standards are meant to be Gods…I want to laugh but it sticks in my throat… 50 years…living with this…Im free now to a point…and it feels so good.

@Idontknow. My experience over the years with JW’s honesty is good an bad. I was in business with some JW developer who would
build houses etc. My brother a Non JW an d myself would loan him money to build and then he pays us back when the property would sell. With interest of course and other bonuses. He would always change the agreement when it was time to sell and try to take awy money he owed us.

When the recession hit like 6-7 years ago He purposely borrowed as much money as he could from various sources not me but he did from my brother in the amount of app $250000. He pretended he was working on the project and then aftyer about a year filed BK. All along he was living off the loan but never started to build the property. Obviously he had no intention and then hid the money and filed the BK. After he filed BK he said Sorry… I had no choice. He planned it.I have so many stories with JW;s not paying back and being dishonest in business would make your skin curl.

Also in N California after some serious summer fires in the mid 90’s many houses were burned down and lost. The insurance company was paying homeowners $$ to rebuild. Some JW elder who had a contractors license but never built a house was able to get money from the insurance company and spent most of it and never built the house for the poor “WORLDLY” homeowner.The homeowner sued him and he had nothing
to sue for so just partied with $300k for 1 year. I have many more but you see the point. They are not all like that and of course many good ones and honest ones but the point is you do not need to be a JW to be honest. They are not as honest as they like to claim.

All that matters in this organization is that you say the “right things,” kiss the right people’s backsides, and keep those donations coming. I have seen people get away with horrible offenses and keep right on in their privileged positions. Maybe they got a small slap on the wrist, but as long as they maintained the “right” attitude they were back in their position in no time. I recall one elder who got caught cheating on his wife about every 5 to 10 years. He’d get DF’d or reproved, be back in a year, be serving as an elder again in another year, then get busted cheating a few years down the road. Happened about 3 or 4 times over several decades.

The whole welfare scam is synonymous with the Watchtower. Members are conditioned to find the most bottom of the barrel job, work the least amount of hours and just get the rest needed from hard working college educated tax paying worldly people. How many jw construction contractors, many of whom have privileges cheat on their taxes omitting cash work? Don’t get me started on the whole home schooled purchased diplomas.

Sounds like many we know…and as you say, if you bring anything like this up, you are a Jezebel..
But be sure to know the correct way to clap after a reinstatement announcement. Si many important topics…

Not sure what you are looking at….but my “worldly” (ugly word) calendar says March 20th is Palm Sunday, then March 25th is Good Friday, March 26th Easter Saturday and March 27th Easter. So the celebration of the Memorial is always before “Easter”, so the 23th is correct.

Every 15 years or so there is a one month disconnect between Easter and Passover. This is because of differences between the Jewish Calendar and the one made at the Counsel of Nicea by the Catholic Church. The JWs apparently follow the Catholic Church calendar rather than the Hebrew Calendar. See the earlier posts By Bad Penny above.

JWs are using the Paschal moon to date Passover this year which is in contradiction with the Jewish festival from 22nd April. Jesus never contended with the Jewish date, so why do Watchtower? We know that the Easter celebration has connotations, so to align the date with this is wrong anyway, although, for the most part, memorial does usually coincide with the Paschal moon. It is only in years when the barley crop has not had sufficient time to ripen that the following new moon is used to work out the date of Nisan. This happens about every 19 years, and this year is one of them.

Good article…I know from life experiences, after JW.ORG…Most people are good hearted, kind and honest…no matter what religion or nationality…One example my Father had after being in a town faraway from home after attending an elders mntg…he was about to leave, but noticed he had a flat tire…all the elders drove away and never asked him if he needed help…along came a worldly person and insisted on helping my Dad cuz it was a cold winter evening…Dad would have done the same to a worldly person…even if a person was so called dfed by the JW.org…Father did not adhere to the rules…he spoke kindly and showed them love…and made them coffee and treated them as nothing was wrong, because he said …man made rules…and who is one or a group of people to judge themselves as better than any one else…needless to say he was removed from the position of elder in no time. Father did not care, he was who he was

If there were more kindness shown and love, I suspect many of us would still be ‘in’. Having said that, once we begin to wake up we also find doctrine that is false. I for one will never go back to organised religion. My God, the one I found at 12 years old, knows me. I have my faith in him. I cannot even read the Bible now as I don’t know truth from lies. So I will walk by faith and not by sight.

@Tara
Yes, they fail on all counts don’t they. Erroneous doctrine, failed predictions, and overall lack of love and compassion. But that’s what we get with a cult of this nature. Reminds me of the writing on the wall in Daniel: “Tekel: You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting.”

@Tara. I am the same Tara. There cannot be much Love in a org that has so amny Man made rules that you MUST follow or you will be punished and everyone is told to snitch on anyone no t following the rules wtc, It is like Communism bc you MUST adhere to the Bureau and they are always looking over your shoulder. As far as reading the bible goes, that may take time bc we are indoctrinated by the WT for so long. I notice when I listen to or see other bible thumpers many of them also make you feel like you must believe the way they do or you will be punished etc. Not the same as the WT but similar.

I to found God at 12 years old… Actually younger and I have been a believer and always will be but not the Wt way. If I read the bible and Jesus words they can be calming to me but it takes time to get rid of the WT indoctrination on the bible.

Just focus on what Jesus asked of you, everything else in the Bible for the most part was written to others, for our benefit but not to us. Love God, Love your neighbor, don’t judge lest you be judged, share where you can the message of the door that is open to all who can make an effort to follow these instructions. In a time where Christ teachings have been soiled with man made pharisaecal rules people need to know how valuable Christ sacrifice is as pertains to forgiving our sins, we cannot out sin Gods love, thanks to Christ. Persist in prayer and take advantage of that blessing as well.

Thank you for sharing your father’s experience. It’s encouraging to see how some have the courage to uphold love of neighbor and kindness and refuse to become cold, hard and mechanical. The WT teaches its members to be callous and judgmental of others even shunning them for not agreeing with the GB ever changing policies and doctrines and policies of delusional men.

As regards honesty based on pure motive– empathy
for the person who has lost their wallet or wedding ring etc,
I don’t believe JWs come out any better or worse than any
other section of society.

What might give them a slight edge, is fear of the all seeing
eye that constantly scrutinises their every action and thought
24/7. ( Could anyone ever come up with a better method of
control? No wonder they have a high suicide rate.)

I’m sure there are many who love their God and are honest
from pure motive. But others will hand the wallet back
because of the often quoted stories like that of Achan.

As you know he stole some stuff that had already been stolen
from someone else. Consequently, he along with all his sons
and daughters and cattle were stoned to death, then set fire to.

It’s enough to make honest men of politicians, but a worthless
as a motive for morality.

Watchtower Babble and Tract Society has one of the worst morals. When a Royal Commission can review the Watchtower within a couple of months, and can draw conclusions on how indecorous the religion is, is it really any wonder why they are not in good standing with Jehovah God? A 15% increase in donations should tell people something is very wrong. When David Splane explains what journalistic integrity is to an award winning journalist, there is something wrong. Especially when the Watchtower magazine’s writers cannot even put their name on the paper. Seriously. There is no credibility there and slowly the legal systems in the respective countries are finally figuring out who really the Watchtower Babble and Tract Society really is. A hypocrite.

The goodness of people is truly astounding. I used to laugh when I heard only we as Witnesses were the only morally good people left on earth. I mean how many times have we seen even homeless people return things of value. If anyone may possibly want to keep something of value why not some one in such a destitute situation. I have seen videos recently were a homeless person was given some money and he did not just go buy food for himself, he brought food for others who were homeless as well. People are generally good. Let’s be honest some of the worst atrocities humans have ever done to other humans have been in the name of religion and I am referring to all religions.

Hello from Mexico, in my personal experience I have found reliable and honest disbelieving people, in fact one of my best friends is not Jehovah’s Witness, and also have sadly noticed that there are brothers witnesses are unreliable, I work as a mechanic and unfortunately some Christian brothers have not paid me for my services in contrast some of the so-called worldly have proved to be decent and trustworthy people, I remember especially a stranger who asked me to please repair your car (at that time had no money to pay for repair thereof) but what was my surprise that days later as promised did, things have contibuido how are you my wake up and see that outsiders are not as bad as they make us believe.

I have just returned home after a C assembly, just to support wife & kids, the public talk was based on how JW can prove we have the truth, it made me sick, how the speaker condemned the Catholic church (didnt name them) but every body knew what he was saying, & i thought hang on, this is the kettle called to pot black, also the point of False Prophets, & pointing the finger at main stream religion, also how people have been mistreated by main stream religion, i thought that if the same talk was given by say Severn Day Adventist for example the evidence in the talk would identify JW as the false religion, on top of that the money grab, a demo where the teenager wanted a new mobile phone, no no no that money can go to the WT, also over $5000 to run the hall for the day, eftposs machines at the ready, you can use your credit card, anyway to make the day further disgusting in regard to child abuse & rubbing main streams nose in it, a familiy were their whose father abused his own daughter, got away with it & just 8 days prior had killed herself, & they say we look after victims.

Oh yeah been in that situation before. During an assembly after my awakening the circuit overseer had a talk where he said “people are leaving false religions in droves because of the hypocrisy that they note in them”. I was working backstage at the time and wanted to rush the stage and scream into that mic ” this INCLUDES JEHOVAHS WITNESSES!” It’s sickening and disgusting. What a slimey underhanded cult I am ashamed to ever be a part of.

Just to add a point i missed, we have just had the royal commission with the Catholic’s here in Australia, & as we all no we have also had the JW one to, i reason with other JW, that how can we say the media are lying about us when they are going after other Religions.

Growing up as a JW, starting in the early 70’s to just recently, I constantly heard, “Don’t do business with Jehovah’s Witnesses.” That was from other Jehovah’s Witnesses not from ‘worldly’ people!

There are some honest JWs for sure, but there are many JWs who feel that Jehovah wants them to get ahead or that they will be forgiven for any dishonesty that they commit. Many JWs can be a nasty bunch of very dishonest and selfish people, believe me.

Jehovah’s witnesses morality depends on the degrees to which they are manipulated…

Consider the following from their publication (w01 12/1 p. 27):
“They trained us to be observant so that we would not be easily caught by the police.
Congregation meetings were held in the homes of Witnesses. When we noticed that the neighbors were becoming suspicious, the meetings were quickly moved to another location so that the house would not be raided or the brothers arrested. Picnics, as we called our assemblies, were held in Monsanto Park, on the outskirts of Lisbon, and at Costa da Caparica, a wooded area on the coast. We dressed casually for the occasion, and a group of vigilant attendants stood guard at strategic points. If anyone suspicious approached, we had time to improvise a game, set up a picnic, or start singing a folk song.
To make it harder for the security police to identify us, we avoided using our real names. The brothers knew us as João Maria and Maria João. Our names were not used in any correspondence or records. Instead, we were assigned numbers. I made a conscious decision not to memorize the addresses of the brothers. That way, if I was arrested, it would not be possible for me to betray them.”!

Thank you sooooo much for clearing it up that misconception that ONLY JW’s can be moral and honest. I had nooooo idea! (sarcasm intended)

This is a poor article for many reasons. I am transitioning from a JW to atheism myself. I always knew that JW’s don’t hold a moral high ground just based off of their title. I remember one time when this sister found a camera in a parking lot of a starbucks and was boasting about it. I asked if she attempted to give it to a lost and found at the starbucks, guess what she said? “No, the employees will probably just keep it for themselves!” Sounds like your anecdote right? Well I got on to a local online lost and found website and found a posting for a camera that looked exactly the same and specifically said, “please just return the SD card so we can at least have the memories” after showing this to the sister realized this was their camera and gave it back to them and commented at the watchtower the next sunday about it… oh wait, but she didn’t! She deleted the photos and said, “I guess we’ll never know” So what does this counter example prove? Honestly, nothing. That sister ended up cheating on her husband and is an anti-JW. Does this example prove anything about anti-JW’s? I am sure many of you would disagree. The point is, some people some people do the right thing and some don’t. JW’s are constantly encouraged to do the right thing in those situations but sometimes don’t. I don’t understand the point on picking on JW’s. Even that study mentioned at the is all encompassing to religions.

Yes it in Daniel but again we see that the high standard that JW’s brag about to the world is only as thick as the skin of the witness. To preach that JW’s are the next best thing to perfection and are God’s people, on a Saturday and then abuse and hide child abuse, lie, steal and cheat on every other day is somewhat hypocritical don’t you think?

Well, I absolutely disagree with the latter part of your statement. The average JW doesn’t “hide child abuse, lie, steal and cheat” every other day. And if they lie, steal, and cheat, they probably do it on about the same regularity as all of us humans on earth. I consider myself an ex-jw, I don’t want that woman in my example to define me. Do you want her to define you? Or is it her JW upbringing that caused her to ultimately cheat on her husband? I don’t think so, I think she is just a woman who was horny or in need of more excitement, or who knows what. But she acted on her desires and needs. She hurt a lot of people, mainly her ex. Now she rants and raves about her hatred towards JW’s. I have a sneaking suspicion though that many of the people that frequent this website would accept her and maybe even rationalize her actions.

A couple thoughts Daniel:
You say the average JW doesn’t hide child abuse. That’s true. It’s the leaders that hide child abuse. Many of the rank and file JWs are unaware as to the extent of the problem. Others turn a blind eye or excuse the organization for their mishandling of abuse cases. But as it has been said, the only thing needed for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing.

As you say, JWs probably lie, cheat, steal at the same regularity as the rest of the population. The Watchtower claims that JWs are a better than the rest of the population. Which to your point is difficult to measure. The article is making the point that this Watchtower claim is false.

Remember most of them are “sheeplike people”!! Their morals are MOSTLY challenged when it comes to what humans share with sheep: SEX.

Ask yourself:
1) How many JW’s will fail this?

w70 5/15 pp. 299-300:
“Today in the various church baptismal ceremonies of Christendom the following devices are included: godparents, … These are identified by The Catholic Encyclopedia and other religious authorities as being appendages of demon practice or devil worship and therefore unchristian.”!

Fewer JW’s will fail to obey and associate with Christendom… but How many will fail to say this:
w12 8/15 p. 28 par. 13: “My wife committed adultery with one of my former students.”

They say “there is “no evidence that dogs preferred a $50 toy to a $5 toy.” (g05 4/22 p. 28)!!

The one thing that used to bug me was the constant bragging about how much better JW’s were than everyone else on morality issues. Especially if you’re a convert from the outside coming in & not a born in. I lived as a “worldly” person for the first 30years of my life, so I knew that those statements were ridiculous. I used to sit there thinking “when you’re pointing the finger, there’s 4 pointing back at you”.

Also, this self promoting goes against Jesus’ message about quiet humility & not bragging like the hypocrites do. It’s in bad taste & no one likes a boaster. I think that it’s okay to give yourself praise but putting others down while you’re doing it, makes it a very unattractive trait that the Society has. Especially when they know full well that it is not the case.

I used to think of the Bible verses & think; doesn’t it say in the Bible in Proverbs 27:2?…”Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips”.

Also, 2 Corinthians 11:30…”If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness”.

I used think to myself; for people who are sprouting “the truth this”, “the truth that”. They certainly do a lot lying & yes there are liars both in & out but when they run around pointing the finger at everyone else then boast about themselves, expect it to draw criticism. That’s why this article hits home for me.

I totally agree with you. I was raised a witness but I saw that in the world there was a lot of nice people that could be easily identified as good and moral. I think anyone of us who was a witness has even said, or heard, “they would make such a good witness.” However, now realize that this article is pointing the finger at the Watchtower. So is the old axiom that you mentioned that you stated still true? Isn’t there 4 fingers pointing back at any of us picking apart the WT? I personally the weakest point of this article is the example of the girl that didn’t want to return the ring. She did that in spite of what she would be encouraged to do through the watchtower. If anything it only proves that single individuals hypocrisy or inability to live up to that standard.

@Daniel
I don’t see where you have effectively proven your thesis statement that this is a poor article. The Watchtower claims that its members are the most moral people on earth. It also claims that all nonmembers are immoral and driven by greed and other debased motives. Do you disagree with the fact that Watchtower has stated this?

After using direct quotations to establish these Watchtower statements, the author shows by example that the Witnesses are not any more moral than the rest of the world. The point is to debunk the Watchtower claims noted above. So apparently you disagree with the authors attempts to do this. How would you attempt to correct this Watchtower lie? Or do you contend that no lie exists?

The Watchtower religion is a cult that uses lies like these to maintain control of its members through fear. It is helpful for recovering cult members to reflect on the lies they were told and to see how they were untrue. The article achieves this intent. Please clarify how you feel it fails to do this.

First of all, you can’t definitively even prove any organization is more or less moral than any other group of people on the earth. It was a poor article because it points out quotes that the watchtower puts out in their teaching material and uses anecdotal evidence to say they prove the statements wrong. I live around a lot of LDS people, and they make the exact statements that witnesses make regarding morals. Every time I witness an LDS person acting dishonestly or “immorally” it doesn’t prove anything to me, except that, no person can live up to perfect standards.

In my transition to an atheism I realized humans will do what they want ultimately. But having positive reinforcement that you can be a good person, and you can be proud of it, is not a bad thing. It is true that many JW’s take it too far, some even get depressed because they don’t feel like they live up to those standards. But I see this as a religion problem overall, not just JW’s. However, that being said, whenever someone acts in hypocrisy they’re not proving the high moral standards wrong. They’re also not proving the admonishments ungrounded, they’re only proving their own inability to live up to those standards themselves. And that still doesn’t prove the standards themselves are the absolute best.

And I disagree with you, I was never taught that ALL non believers are immoral and greedy. I would like to see that quote. However, I happen to agree with them that we do live in a world that encourages ALL OF US to be greedy and give into selfish desires. Even Bill Maher (ardent atheist) ranted on his show last week about the self loving movement. So, as much I disagree with JW’s that they are definitively the most moral people on earth, I believe that on a spectrum they probably hold, and live up to, (their) higher moral standards in general. In the UK the Behavioral Insights Team, or the “Nudge Unit,” found that they could get many non taxpayers to pay their taxes by just sending them a simple letter that mentioned that the vast majority of their fellow citizens paid theirs. It shows that when we exposed to these high standards, and have constant reinforcement to these standards, you’re more likely to act on them. But as we all have seen, there will be a hypocrite. But this true of JW’s, LDS’s, republicans, and (gasp) maybe even some of this people reading this article. Maybe even the article writers themselves!!

The point at issue here is not whether or not persons can live up to perfect standards.

The point at issue here is the JW’s US vs. THEM phobia indoctrination which breeds and magnifies a fear of “worldly” people by claiming that JWs are more honest and moral than non-JWs and so non-JWs are “worldly” people and bad association. This phobia indoctrination causes JWs to limit their social network to JWs only.

I for one was told that it would be wrong to participate in extracurricular activities at school and outside of school since non-JWs are “worldly”, evil, satanic people and are therefore bad association.

I also recall on one occasion during my teenage years when I mentioned to a JW that I would be spending a few days at the home of my mother’s friend, his response was: ‘Are they witnesses’?

In this post, I also gave an experience I had with a JW who insisted that I shouldn’t miss meetings because I need to be with Jehovah’s people because the people in the world are so bad and only JWs are good. Her fear of “worldly” people was tantamount to hysteria and mania.

JWs are constantly brainwashed to believe that they should only associate with JWs because JWs are superior, more honest and more moral than non-JWs and so it would be wrong to keep non-JW friends.

The point of the article is to debunk the JW belief that they are superior to everyone else and that they have the monopoly on good people. The fact is good people are scattered everywhere among us. This JW belief is used as phobia indoctrination to control the minds of JWs and make them fearful of leaving the cult. This therefore proves to be a very effective retention strategy for the JWs.

Also, the fear of “worldly” people results in a lack of association with non-JWs. This is the WT’s way of ensuring that JWs will be prevented from hearing anything critical of the religion.

The point of the article is that the belief that JWs are more honest and more moral than non-JWs is used as a mind control and brainwashing tool. Mind control and brainwashing techniques are usually employed by religions to persuade members that they alone teach truth.

Daniel, I appreciate your taking the time to reply to each post. I think dee2 has summed up most of what needs to be said in reply, but I’ll add a couple items.

You were looking for a quote where the watchtower said that ALL non-JWs are immoral and greedy. The Watchower never to my recollection uses the word “all” but rather generalizes and says “the world” is like this or is like that. By generalizing they imply that 99.9% of the world fits their generalization, with only 1/1000 having good qualities, and hence worthy of being converted. This is common practice for cults, using fear of the outside world to keep the membership enslaved.

Quotes like this one come to mind: “While some contact with worldly people is unavoidable – at work, at school, and otherwise-we must be vigilant so as to keep from being sucked back into the death-dealing atmosphere of this world. Let the world go along in its way, reaping its bad fruitage in the form of broken homes, illegitimate births, sexually transmitted diseases, such as AIDS, and countless other emotional and physical woes.” Watchtower 1987
Sep 15 pp.12-14

Further quotes are above in the article at hand.

I agree that religion can provide positive reinforcement for good behaviors. That is true of many religions. Others, however, exercise undue control and really must be characterized as cults. The JWs fall into the latter category.

“it doesn’t prove anything to me, except that, no person can live up to perfect standards.”

If this is the case then why is the WT labelling JWs as superior to everyone else?

“whenever someone acts in hypocrisy they’re not proving the high moral standards wrong. They’re also not proving the admonishments ungrounded, they’re only proving their own inability to live up to those standards themselves.”

Which is all the more reason why the WT shouldn’t be labelling JWs as superior to everyone else since they too lack the ability to live up to moral standards themselves.

“So, as much I disagree with JW’s that they are definitively the most moral people on earth, I believe that on a spectrum they probably hold, and live up to, (their) higher moral standards in general.”

What proof do you have of this? Do you have any data on how JWs compare to the rest of the world?

According to the website:
****The map, as you will see, clearly shows that these crimes are at the very least as common within the Witness community as they are within the rest of society, and not what Watchtower wants Witnesses or anyone else to think.****

Do you have any data to counter this?

“But as we all have seen, there will be a hypocrite. But this true of JW’s, LDS’s, republicans, and (gasp) maybe even some of this people reading this article. Maybe even the article writers themselves!!”

This attests to the point that there are good and bad people in every sphere of life so no need to create a fear and phobia of the rest of the world who are not JWs.

“The following state and federal employment related criminal and civil court cases are not intended as evidence that Jehovah’s Witness Employees are more dishonest than other employees, but rather are intended to demonstrate that Jehovah’s Witnesses are just as dishonest, or honest, as are other members of the human population — whether religious or non-religious.”

“First of all, you can’t definitively even prove any organization is more or less moral than any other group of people on the earth.”

If this cannot be proven then how are you able to assert that:

“So, as much I disagree with JW’s that they are definitively the most moral people on earth, I BELIEVE THAT ON A SPECTRUM THEY PROBABLY HOLD, AND LIVE UP TO, (THEIR) HIGHER MORAL STANDARDS IN GENERAL” (emphasis added).

If as you state :”you can’t definitively even prove any organization is more or less moral than any other group of people on the earth” then how are you able to place the JWs on a spectrum and compare them to others?

“It was a poor article because it points out quotes that the watchtower puts out in their teaching material and uses ANECDOTAL EVIDENCE to say they prove the statements wrong” (emphasis added).

Is the evidence provided in the article just ANECDOTAL EVIDENCE or is this evidence a part of a larger data set which proves that the WT’s statements are wrong?

1. Have you read all of the comments on this article? If you did you would have noticed that some of the commenters have provided their own evidence to prove that the WT’s statements are wrong.

According to the website:
****The map, as you will see, clearly shows that these crimes are at the very least as common within the Witness community as they are within the rest of society, and not what Watchtower wants Witnesses or anyone else to think.****

******* 1. Have you read all of the comments on this article?………… The following website was included in one of the comments; it documents state and federal employment related criminal and civil court cases involving JWs:

Unfortunately you completely missed the point of the article. Within the Jehovah’s Witness organization there is a culture of superiority which is used as a tool by Witnesses to enhance their bias for the religion and against those who are in “the world”.

It seems you are concerned with pointing the finger at the Watchtower. Why wouldn’t we point the finger? As a whole, the organization is a very captive organization which isolates its members from society in general, encouraging them to refrain from associating with anyone not a Witness, refrain from higher education, and refrain from anything remotely connected with interfaith. They quote Jesus who said “I have taken you out of the world” and quote John who said “The world is passing away and so is its desire…”

Witnesses wish to find and use every possible means to confirm their bias that they, and ONLY they have the true religion, and all others will perish if they reject God’s organization.

One of the by-products of this is the belief among Witnesses that they follow Jesus’ example more closely than ANYONE else on earth, period. Which means they believe they are the most honest and reputable people in the world. Socially, Witnesses tell stories every day of how a JW became notable because of his or her honesty, such as when a Jehovah’s Witness returned a very expensive ring lost years ago by comedian Red Skelton. I have heard hundreds of versions of the Johnny Carson urban legends spread by JWs for years, in which he supposedly told the press that his accountant and housekeeper were both Witnesses, and he trusts them because of their honesty.

The point is that all of this derives from the Watchtower organization, which creates and nurtures this environment and superiority complex. They are first and foremost to blame since they write and publish the articles which influence Witnesses to take on this belief system. There is nothing wrong with promoting honesty. But if you create a situation where your members feel their beliefs and practices are superior to those of other faiths, then you must face the reality that you will be criticized, and rightly so.

You stated that “I consider myself an ex-jw” – what exactly does that mean? Were you never baptized as a Witness? if this is the case, it might explain your comments. Feel free to elaborate

I loved the JW Broadcasting March program analysis done by Lloyd Evans. Lloyd’s analysis is right on. Watchtower never considers a situation when things go really bad. It is always about the best conclusions when it comes to severe health related issues. They never consider the “what if” scenarios that are represented in life’s most dire situations.

The answers to those questions are either Leave it in Jehovah’s hands or you must have done something wrong on your end (deflection). Isn’t that nice and comforting.

Personally I found the March program completely depressing. Not up building at all. The lady who volunteered to do Watchtower construction found herself facing a life-or-death dilemma after a bomb exploded inside a Watchtower Construction project. It does not sound too safe on those Watchtower construction sites at all.

Watchtower’s “bring out your almost dead” episode is extremely morbid. They should have put a warning on their broadcast to warn parents about the material displayed on their episode. Please take your anti-depressants before watching this episode of JW Broadcasting.

Kenneth Flodin, “helper”. I have no idea what he is talking about. The grieving the spirit man with the bread and the chocolate sauce squirt bottle. I do not get his illustration. Did anyone out there get this man’s illustration?

When he threw that bread in the bin, I instantly thought of how my mum would have reacted to that coming from a lesser developed country . We were brought up to always think of our relatives that were starving so we were never allowed to waste food like that. This man’s living standard is like one of the top 2%ers, he should have been more sympathetic to the plight of others & used a different prop. That was insulting, self-centred & ignorant.

Lovely article Jane. As an Anglican clergyman I am branded as belonging to ‘the evil slave class’ because that is their stereotype of me. Yet I have managed to befriend a number of them, will try and attend this week’s Memorial meeting in the local kingdom hall where no doubt I shall be warmly greeted. It is important to let them see that there are decent folk outside their system, some of whom might also be Bible-believing, even clergymen.

I came to the realization that the JWs do not have the monopoly on good people when an elder and his wife tried to slander me and spread rumours on me because they wanted the brother whom I was friendly with for their daughter. When I first came to this congregation, they ran into me like a freight train inviting me to their house. I was however, not invited back to their home after that now that they realized the threat I posed to their marriage plans for their daughter.

The shock of this experience along with the constant negative doom & gloom message of the religion which was causing me to become depressed, made me decide to step away from the religion for a while to widen my social circle.

Another sister took it upon herself to give me a good lecture about why I shouldn’t miss meetings because I need to be with Jehovah’s people because the people in the world are so bad and only JWs are good. Her fear of worldly people was tantamount to hysteria and mania.

Phobia indoctrination is a very effective cult mind control and retention strategy for the JWs.The JW’s US vs. THEM phobia/fear of worldly people is magnified to prevent JWs from leaving the group or associating with non-JWs.
The lack of association with non-JWs ensures that JWs will be prevented from hearing anything critical of the group.

When I told an elder from another congregation what I had experienced and how shocked I was that a Presiding Overseer and his wife were trying to slander me, given that I was told how superior to the world JWs are, that other elder just turned the situation around on me and made me feel that what had happened was my fault and I was to be blamed.

I know an elder in Valenzuela/Meycauayan whose family is engaged in a jewelry business. They don’t pay correct taxes and the wife of the businessman elder was saying “if you pay correct taxes, your business would be in jeopardize”.

I am astonished at the way the WT movement indulges in Image and Self “agrandissement”

It is only relatively recently that censor over Smoking was introduced. I clearly remember a picture hanging over the Stairwell in the UK Bethel…with one of the GB happily puffing on his pipe. Meanwhile the LDS church had declared its stand on tobacco for many years.

And, what too, about Tea,Coffee and indeed Alcohol. If Smoking is wrong…why, are they not? These items are drugs too.

And, why be so pedantic about throwing confetti and rice at a wedding when someone has just put a Phallic symbol on their finger?

No…the JW list of “dos and don’ts” comes over like the Talmud.

Members are just as shackled by an Organisation that promised to free them from the questionable doctrine and fetters of the rest of Christendom.

“They think their so cleaver and classless and free, but their still fucking peasants as far as I can see”.
Great last two rebuttals on John Ceadars YouTube. As regards the ends of the earth, I’d walk there too

In the witness world, rules and regulations are set by imperfect men and they tend to pick and choose which things are pagan and it appears to be a hit an miss type scenario.
Confetti – no
tinkling of glasses – no
wedding rings (pagan origin) – yes
white wedding dress (pagan origin) – yes

the list could go on and on….

this is probably mostly about control and having something to unite the cult – “dont celebrate holidays and birthdays – distinguish yourselves from the worldly people.”

And from my personal experience I have met many dishonest witnesses and I have met many dishonest non witness people. I agree that religion does not factor into whether a person will lie, cheat or steal.

Problem is that most witnesses buy into the propaganda from headquarters that ALL non witnesses will lie, cheat and steal and that “all worldy people are a corrupting influence and must be avoided”.

All this begging for money from Watchtower’s streaming broadcast network has been extremely surprising. The Governing Body point blank asking for money in one episode, then in a later episode saying that it was not enough, is extremely disconcerting.

The Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses are lacking faith in Jehovah’s providing power. They need to pray to Jehovah and ask for money and leave it in Jehovah’s hands.

The Bible outlines countless examples of Jehovah’s providing power. While Jesus was on earth, Jehovah made sure his son was provided for. Jesus never asked for money. He had faith in his father’s providing power.

Would the God of the Bible provide assistance to a cult bent on adding and subtracting to his established word as it suits their companies agenda? Would he bless the efforts of a supposed Christian congregation bent on soiling his sons message of love and mercy? Would he bless this org that pushes God loving kids as young as six into baptism and then traumatically shun them when it turns out they aren’t perfect in their teen angst years? Would he bless them for the families they break up? Bless them for teaching that money is better spent moving their product then giving it to the poor, the widow, the orphan? Would he bless them for presuming to represent his name and then pushing many times more people away than they attract with their harsh and cruel amendments to his word? 8 million is what they claim out of 8 billion, how many have they permanently pushed away from Christ by first painting all other Christianity as the devil and then scrubbing what’s left with their utter hypocricy?
They are damned

One of the MANY reasons I left this cult is because of how they label everyone “worldly” while they hold the superior title of the “only ones with the truth!!!” I used to look around at so many genuinely wonderful, nice, caring, and kind folk that were NOT jw’s and wonder why they were always labeled “goats!!!” Some of the most crooked and dishonest folk I know, are jw’s! I am so glad to be free from that lifestyle and false religion!

After serving for 10 yrs as an elder, I can tell you the most cowardly, men pleasing, backstabbing and judgmental people I have ever met were the elders I ever served with. Not even the average publisher was so deceitful and secretive as the elders are.

I work with non JW’s and most are respectful of your beliefs. They are caring father’s, husband’s just wanting to provide for their families. They are not backstabbing you or secretly talking about you to the the CO or writing letters behind your back to the WT like the organization teaches you to do. The “worldly” people I work with would never cover up for a child molester and refuse to cooperate with authorities like the elders do as instructed by the Governing Body.

I wish I could agree with this article but I left Jehovah’s witnesses for a while and my experience was not the same as yours ( I wish it was). I experienced a lot of deceit , cheating on whatever you could , white lies etc.. yes there was some good people but most were hard to find so after a few years of that I went back to the Kingdom Hall and I’m glad I did..

Your experience in life if the result of the persons you choose to associate with. If you find yourself among persons who cheat and lie, then you have chosen your friends poorly. The answer is not the Kingdom Hall – the answer is making choices which involve truth as well as unconditional friendship. You will not find unconditional friendship in the Kingdom Hall. These people only love you if you are an active Witness, and you believe every single word of the Governing Body. You are not allowed to think for yourself. The religion is a delusion – and yes there are some nice persons inside the religion – just as there are truly genuine and honest Catholics, Presbyterians, and Atheists.

Don’t be fooled – truth and real love do not lie within the JW organization. It is everywhere – from your neighbor to the medical team who will save your life in the hospital or when you are lying on the street- not because you are a Witness, but because you are a human being.

Real love does not exist inside the 4 walls of a church – and I am confident you will eventually learn this

I read this article and cannot help but see that there are clear assertions if not accusations that Jehovah’s Witnesses teach that the whole world is lying in the power of the wicked world. But is it true that it’s Jehovah’s Witnesses that teach this? Or is it the bible that clearly teaches this? Check out 1 John 5:19, it reads “We know that we originate with God, but the whole world is lying in the power of the wicked one.” This is simply not a teaching of Jehovah’s Witnesses. It is clearly a teaching of the bible as found in 1 John 5:19.

Paul, I read the article and I didn’t see any “accusations” that Jehovah’s Witnesses are the only ones that teach 1 John 5:19.

The point of the article was only saying that just because a person is JW, that doesn’t make them MORE honest than “worldly” people.

The Watchtower Society does instill fear of the “world” and that “most” people in the world are dishonest and not to be trusted. Do you agree with that or do you think that Jehovah’s Witnesses trust the world and not in fear of “worldly” people generally?

I was a Witness for 50 years and I know that fear of the “world” is what I got out of all our literature and talks and the only place that we could be “safe” was to be inside Jehovah’s Organization or “ark” where other Witnesses could be trusted, not like the “world”, which most of them could not be trusted and were to be feared.

You are right about the Bible teaching that the whole world is lying in the power of Satan from 1 John 5:19 but the Watchtower uses that scripture to instill fear of “outsiders” in Witnesses psyche to keep them locked in to the Organization. In other words, it makes Witnesses paranoid of the “outside world”.

@Paul Taylor,
Unsure what motivates your comment, but I will point out that the issue is not necessarily what the Bible states, but how rather the JWs define the “world.” They define it as anyone who is not an active Jehovah’s Witness, even if they are practicing Christians. By their narrow definition, anyone who does not subscribe to their particular brand of Christianity is evil and deserves to be annihilated at the imminent Armageddon.